My second novel, Enchantress of Paris, hit bookstore shelves yesterday. The launch event at Barnes & Noble and all the wonderful feedback from readers and reviewers have touched my heart. Have I mentioned how much I love and appreciate you, dear readers? Thank you for making my work possible!

USA Today just allowed me to write as their guest and published my article about the unsung heroines of history here.

Also today, Harper Collins is revealing the cover for our WWI anthology A Fall of Poppies. I’m pleased and humbled to be included in this anthology centered around Armistice Day with such incredible, bestselling authors as Heather Webb, Hazel Gaynor, Beatriz Williams, Jennifer Robson, Jessica Brockmole, Kate Kerrigan, Evangeline Holland, and Lauren Willig. The line about a Belgian rebel in the following blurb…that’s my story!

~ “Top voices in historical fiction deliver an intensely moving collection of short stories about loss, longing, and hope in the aftermath of World War I…

A squadron commander searches for meaning in the tattered photo of a girl he’s never met…

A Belgian rebel hides from the world, only to find herself nursing the enemy…

A young airman marries a stranger to save her honor—and prays to survive long enough to love her…

The peace treaty signed on November 11, 1918, may herald the end of the Great War but for its survivors, the smoke is only beginning to clear. Picking up the pieces of shattered lives will take courage, resilience, and trust. Within crumbled city walls and scarred souls, war’s echoes linger. But when the fighting ceases, renewal begins…and hope takes root in a fall of poppies.” ~

Without further ado, I give you…the cover & links…. [isn't it beautiful?!!]

Fall of Poppies Cover Reveal

Barnes & Noble / Amazon / IndieBound / Books-a-Million

William Morrow Trade Paperback; March 1, 2016; $14.99; ISBN: 9780062418548

I still can’t believe it’s been a year since GIRL ON THE GOLDEN COIN hit bookstore shelves. After seven years of research, writing, editing, querying, waiting, and praying through submissions, the hardback release went by fast. That may have something to do with the fact I was writing like a mad-woman to get Book 2 completed by deadline. But since Book 2 was dutifully turned in, I’ve been reflecting on this wild and wonderful year, and suddenly it’s time to talk about GIRL ON THE GOLDEN COIN again. To celebrate, here are 10 interesting moments from my first year as a published author:

1)   I’m fortunate to have a circle of wise authorly friends, and during a moment of freaking out before release, one of them said, “Try to enjoy it, it’s like getting your author cherry popped.” It made me laugh, made me relax, and I really did enjoy it!

2)   Social media on release day was chock-full of memorable moments as friends, family, fellow authors, and friends of friends shouted out to the word about GIRL’s release. Each and every post and comment touched my heart.

3)   The moment I got my first bad review sucked more than I ever thought suck could suck. I don’t think I’ve ever used the word “suck” on my blog before (another memorable moment!). After internet-stalking the person who wrote it and lamenting all indications the reviewer obviously hadn’t read half the novel and hadn’t understood the other half…I got over it. Not everyone’s going to like my work. It taught me to stop reading reviews unless my publicist send them to me!

4)   When I received word from my publicist that we’d gotten a starred review from Publisher’s Weekly, my heart soared over the moon. It was a great review and I will always be grateful to the reviewer who took the time to phrase it. Thankfully this moment came quickly upon the heels of #3, and is part of the reason #3 was so easy to get over.  I’ve received a number of heartwarming and wonderful reviews and industry nods since, and I deeply appreciate each of them!

5)   Media interview moments can be nerve wracking. My first radio interview was conducted over the phone. I was scheduled to leave home immediately after it for a library event out of town so I was  crunched for time, plus I was extremely nervous about being on the radio! So nervous, in fact, I started to sweat all over, threatening to mess up my library-event-outfit! The only sensible thing to do was to lock myself in my bedroom and strip down until the interview was over. I will never tell which radio interview it was, but yes, I was almost naked while I gave that interview. One good thing from this experience (besides having the awesome interview aired!) was that I learned how to calm down and prevent “interview-sweats” before my television interview. I’m not sure a half naked author would have been taken seriously on television…

6)   Signing books at the bookstore on release day – whoa. First of all, I’m holding this glossy, heavy hardback dotted with blurbs provided by my generous authorly friends, and I’m surrounded by readers, family, friends…people who showed up in a big way…people who wanted to read what I wrote! Truly humbling. Chokes me up just writing about it.

7)   Blog interviews take up more than a moment, but it took no time at all to realize how wonderful bloggers are. I had the good fortune to be interviewed on some excellent blogs by thoughtful people. I cannot even begin to name all the wonderful blogs and how much I enjoyed each blogger! I have a deep appreciation for the blogging community out there who help spread the word about books-thanks to all of you!

8)   At one of my signings, a particular gentleman peppered me with publishing questions (how’d I get my agent? how’d I get a book deal?) without ever buying a book. As he finally wound down, he took a breath, gave me the once over then said, “You don’t look like a historical fiction author.” While my dear sweet husband turned three shades of red, I, in my black leather high heeled boots and long blonde hair, shrugged it off. It was a moment that shouldn’t have occurred, (exactly how should I look?!) but I appreciated my husband’s protective response. It taught me to expect the unexpected at public events.

9)   The following moment happened more times than I care to admit, when someone would approach my signing table at a bookstore and ask, “Where can I find DIVERGENT?” For the record, I was able to direct each of them! Nor was I upset. I’m always thrilled to see shoppers in bookstores!

10)  Bookstore signings are crowding out my list of memorable moments! I thoroughly loved each and every bookstore that hosted me, but my all time doozy moment did happen at a bookstore. A reader told me their mother had hated my book. This reader quoted their mother who had apparently said, “That is a terrible book because it’s set in the olden days. The only way a book like that could get published is if the author knew someone in the business.” My dear husband turned redder than red (again). But I actually laughed out loud at this one (a LOT). Any author will tell you, publishing doesn’t work that way! My amused response made me realize that nothing can taint the joy of having my book published and out in the world!

I hope this sampling of my exciting year was entertaining for you as it was fun for me! If you haven’t read GIRL, I hope you’ll pick her up in paperback here or here! This latest release has even brought the kindle price down!

You know, I think it’s time I shared the details of this wild year – the ups and downs, the laughs and the face-palm moments. Check back soon for more!

GIving GIRL ON THE GOLDEN COIN away free!

Ride the TITLE WAVE into the 17th century

Books by Eve LaPlante, David Teems, Francis Bremer, John Fox, and Nathaniel Philbrick.

There’s a vast crowd of enthusiasts reading and discussing everything medieval and renaissance. But time didn’t stop with Elizabeth Tudor’s death in 1603. Are you looking for the rest of the story?

King James, his son King Charles I, and grandsons Charles II and James II kept the drama level high and dangerous in the seventeenth century. Their marriages and lovers, births and deaths, political intrigues, religious conflicts, witch hunts, and wars marked the beginning of our modern period. Their aristocrats and politicians, tradesmen, midwives, ministers, writers, musicians, scientists, and artists changed the world.

Have you noticed that it’s the gift-giving season?  Why not knock out your whole gift list right now with these suggestions? The gift of a book is one that’s remembered for years. Some people find it convenient to buy books for all their siblings, or as appreciation gifts for their children’s teachers. You might give paperback books to some in the family, or use the Kindle-gift option. Some books are stand-alone, some are part of a series.

This is a list of authors who have the 17^th century covered, from Shakespeare and midwife forensic investigators to barber surgeons, Charles II’s mistresses, men and women who founded American democracy, servants and highway robbers, people who gave their lives for their principles or just because they were falsely accused as witches. In these books you’ll find sumptuous gowns and high society, educated women, poverty, prostitutes, and massacres, childbirth and plague, castles and manors, cathedrals and meetinghouses—even a vampire.

Our ninth or tenth great-grandparents knew these people—or were these people. (Well, probably not the vampire—but everyone else!) Discover what their lives were like, and how their lives formed who you are. Many of the book characters from the 17^thcentury are based on facts, events, and real people. The authors, in addition to their literary skills, have spent months and years in research to get the 17^th century world “just right,” so you’ll get your history veggies in a delicious brownie.

Ride the wave of the time-space continuum into the 17^th century with these award-winning and highly-rated authors. The images you see are a small sample of what’s available from this talented group! Click  the author’s name to open a new tab.

Anna Belfrage — Time-slip (then and now) love and war.	Jo Ann Butler — From England to New England: survival, love, and a dynasty.	Susanna Calkins — Murder mysteries set in 1660s London.
Francine Howarth — Heroines, swashbuckling romance.	Judith James — Rakes and rogues of the Restoration.	Marci Jefferson — Royal Stuarts in Restoration England.
Elizabeth Kales — French Huguenot survival of Inquisition.	Juliet Haines Mofford — True crime of New England, pirates.	Mary Novik — Rev. John Donne and daughter.
Donald Michael Platt — Spanish Inquisition cloak and dagger.	Katherine Pym — London in the 1660s.	Diane Rapaport — Colonial New England true crime.
Peni Jo Renner — Salem witch trials.	Christy K Robinson — British founders of American democracy and rights.	Anita Seymour —  Royalists and rebels in English Civil War.
Mary Sharratt — Witches (healers) of Pendle Hill, 1612.	Alison Stuart — Time-slip war romance, ghosts.	Deborah Swift — Servant girls running for lives, highwaywoman.
Ann Swinfen — Farmers fighting to keep land, chronicles of Portuguese physician.	Sam Thomas — Midwife solves murders in city of York.	Suzy Witten — Salem witch trials.
Andrea Zuvich — Vampire in Stuart reign, Duke of Monmouth and mistress.

I’ve always wanted to go at Christmas, and having the added excuse of wanting to visit my publishing house made this the perfect year to go. We toured all over up and downtown, hit the Top of the Rock, and paid respects at the 9/11 Memorial. I dragged my poor children through the Metropolitan Museum (“Mom this place is so inappropriate, there are naked people everywhere!”), braved the crowds around the tree at Rockefeller Center, and gobbled down cannolis with them in Little Italy. We had a ball.

Of course, a personal highlight was meeting my editor, her assistant, and my publicist for lunch at Almond (delicious) in the Flat Iron district, then getting an inside peek at the St Martin’s Press offices in the historic Flat Iron Building, where I also met my marketing manager and digital marketing manager.

Wow, was I impressed! Everyone was so friendly and happy, and yet able to turn sharply professional during moments when “business” popped into our conversation. I have this terrible habit of forgetting to take pictures when I’m having an especially good time. We hit it off so well, talking about random things like the merits of baking, human sonar, and Candy Crush addictions, that I just never thought to stop for photographic documentation. Gah!

While I don’t have pictures of my fabulous team and new favorites at St Martin’s Press, I did walk away with a sense of utter confidence in and an appreciation for the people backing my novel. Oh, and I did take this quick pre-meeting shot of the little bags of chocolate gold coins with GIRL ON THE GOLDEN COIN tags that I handed out. I have a feeling my readers may see more chocolate gold coins in the coming months!

Chocolate Gold Coins

Advance Reader Copies of GIRL ON THE GOLDEN COIN

This means my publisher is now sending review copies out to bloggers and trade reviewers…so on second thought…maybe I’m nervous about it!!! Actually, I’ve been so focused on my new novel, that I just realized my publisher has ALSO set up a giveaway on Goodreads! If you’re interested, hop over and enter to win one of fifty free copies! Good luck!

I get so excited about a new project that I tend to buy lots and lots of research books. The research is so fun! And these last few weeks I’ve been buying a lot of books. I’ve also been checking out scads of out-of-print research books from the library. Sometimes I find a library book that is such a valuable resource I have to find and buy my own copy. That’s what happened with the big black book pictured below. It is simply loaded with information that I must have on hand at all times! But do you see the little red book on top of it? That is a different edition of the same book that arrived in the mail today. At first I was upset with myself for ordering the wrong thing…but it is exactly the same! Astonishing, isn’t it? I guess you can’t judge a book by it’s cover…or size.

different editions of the same book

About Kate

Kate Quinn is a native of southern California. She attended Boston University, where she earned a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Classical Voice. A lifelong history buff, she has written three novels set in ancient Rome: “Mistress of Rome,” “Daughters of Rome,” and “Empress of the Seven Hills,” all of which have been translated into multiple languages.

Kate made the jump from ancient Rome to Renaissance Italy for her fourth and fifth novels, “The Serpent and the Pearl” and “The Lion and the Rose,” detailing the early years of the Borgia clan.  She also has succumbed to the blogging bug, and keeps a blog filled with trivia, pet peeves, and interesting facts about historical fiction. She and her husband now live in Maryland with a small black dog named Caesar, and her interests include opera, action movies, cooking, and the Boston Red Sox.

The official blurb for THE SERPENT AND THE PEARL:

Rome, 1492. The Holy City is drenched with blood and riddled with secrets. A pope lies dying and the throne of God is left vacant, a prize awarded only to the most virtuous – or the most ruthless. The Borgia family begins its legendary rise, chronicled by an innocent girl who finds herself drawn into their dangerous web . . .

Now Kate, give us your quick-drop on THE SERPENT AND THE PEARL…

Take a vivacious blonde with floor-length hair, add a cynical dwarf on the hunt for a serial killer, toss in one fiery cook with a dangerous past, then stir to a boil, light on fire, and serve for a hell of a read!

Why the switch from ancient Rome to Rome under Borgia rule? 

Because I was starting to have daydreams about writing a book where I never, not once, had to type the word t-o-g-a.  I love ancient Rome, but I needed a vacation!  And the Borgias grabbed me as soon as I started reading about them.  That whole era is just saturated with artistic and scientific advancements side by side with bloody mayhem, and the Borgias are the poster children for all that gorgeous Renaissance chaos.

You say your culinary husband inspired dishes in the Serpent and the Pearl, and that his traits appeared in the hero of Mistress of Rome. Can I borrow him? In what other ways does he influence your work?

My Navy sailor husband probably shows up the most clearly in my last book, “Empress of the Seven Hills,” which features another tall freckled left-handed military man who doesn’t suffer fools even when they’re superior officers! As for “The Serpent and the Pearl,” one of my two heroines is inspired directly by my husband’s fiery Sicilian grandmother, the one who taught him to cook so well.  To this day he can’t break pasta into a pot of water without a wince and a “Sorry, Grandma” because just like my Renaissance cook heroine, his grandmother would whack you over the head with a wooden spoon for daring to break pasta instead of folding it.  She turned my husband into a fabulous cook; now that “Serpent and the Pearl” is out, he’s having fun cooking his way through all the recipes in it.  Who knows, maybe there will be a companion cookbook?

I’m really into the use of cosmetics throughout history. Did you uncover any interesting beauty regimens during your research of the Borgia family?

My second heroine Giulia Farnese was one of the most famous beauties of the Renaissance, especially known for her floor-length hair, so you can bet her beauty routines are meticulous.  Some of the Renaissance cosmetics recipes I found are absolutely vile, like a face mask that calls for dove entrails.  Others, like a rinse for blondifying hair which was made out of saffron, cinnabar, and sulphur, sound a bit nicer.  Renaissance ladies were all mad for fair hair, so a favorite girls-day-out back then was to head up to the rooftop and put on big-brimmed crownless sun hats so you could spread your hair out under the sun to bleach it, but still keep your skin white!

Finally, a discussion on craft. Your sentences are so precise and well paced! Is this a natural gift or do you have to edit a work to death before it’s in such great shape?

Edit, edit, edit.  Re-read, curse a little, edit some more.  One of my worst habits is that I start unconsciously relying on favorite words or phrases.  Almost the last thing I do is to run a Search in my manuscript for the words and phrases I like to overuse: shrug, smile, grin, glare; arms folded across chests; people tilting their heads; etc.  But it’s like a Whack-A-Mole game: no sooner do I push down one set of over-used words than another set pops up in its place!

Thank you, Kate! It is always a pleasure! Do I finally have the secrets to your own lovely golden tresses? Is that saffron or cinnabar I smell? I’m headed for the spice aisle right now!

The Serpent and the Pearl by Kate Quinn

~Praise for THE SERPENT AND THE PEARL

“Three compelling characters weave a tangled trajectory through the life and politics of 15th-century Rome.  Carmelina’s sharp tongue, Leonello’s caustic wit, and Giulia’s unconditional good humor in the face of danger play off each other beautifully to create another riveting novel from Kate Quinn.”

– Historical Novels Review, August 2013

 Buy Kate’s Books

Twitter  |  Website and Blog  |  Goodreads  |  Facebook

Girl on the Golden Coin, a Novel of Frances Stuart

My very first novel is about the seventeenth century beauty who rejected three kings and graced England’s coins for generations as the model for Britannia. It will release February 11, 2014 from Thomas Dunne Books / St. Martin’s Press. But I’m in the mood to celebrate this triumphant cover right now! Pre-order before the end of the week and comment on this blog post for a chance to win a pair of sterling-silver pearl-drop earrings like the ones Frances wears on the cover (be prepared to present your receipt).

FIND IT HERE:

Barnes & Noble

IndieBound

Amazon

Goodreads

MORE ABOUT THE BOOK

Impoverished and exiled to the French countryside after the overthrow of the English Crown, Frances Stuart survives merely by her blood-relation to the Stuart Royals. But in 1660, the Restoration of Stuart Monarchy in England returns her family to favor. Frances discards threadbare gowns and springs to gilded Fontainebleau Palace, where she soon catches King Louis XIV’s eye. But Frances is no ordinary court beauty, she has Stuart secrets to keep and people to protect. The king turns vengeful when she rejects his offer to become his Official Mistress. He banishes her to England with orders to seduce King Charles II and stop a war.

Armed in pearls and silk, Frances maneuvers through the political turbulence of Whitehall Palace, but still can’t afford to stir a scandal. Her tactic to inspire King Charles to greatness captivates him. He believes her love can make him an honest man and even chooses Frances to pose as Britannia for England’s coins. Frances survives the Great Fire, the Great Plague, and the debauchery of the Restoration Court, yet loses her heart to the very king she must control. Until she is forced to choose between love or war.

On the eve of England’s Glorious Revolution, James II forces Frances to decide whether to remain loyal to her Stuart heritage or, like England, make her stand for Liberty. Her portrait as Britannia is minted on every copper coin. There she remains for generations, an enduring symbol of Britain’s independent spirit and her own struggle for freedom.

ADVANCE PRAISE

“In her wonderfully evocative debut, Girl on the Golden Coin, Marci Jefferson recreates the fascinating story of Frances Stuart, whose influence over England’s Charles II became the talk of a nation. As vibrant and delightful as the woman it’s based on, Girl on the Golden Coin is a jewel of a novel!”

—Michelle Moran, national bestselling author of The Second Empress and Madame Tussaud

“Beauty is not always a blessing, as young Frances Stuart finds out when her lovely face pits her between the desires and politics of rival kings Louis XIV and Charles II. Frances makes an appealing heroine, by turns wary and passionate, sophisticated and innocent, as she matures from destitute young pawn to the majestic duchess whose figure would grace Britain’s coins for centuries. Her struggles to support her loved ones, uncover her family secrets, and somehow find a life of her own amid the snake-pit courts of the Sun King and the Merry Monarch make for lively, entertaining reading in this lush Restoration novel by debut author Marci Jefferson.”

—Kate Quinn, national bestselling author of Mistress of Rome

“Girl on the Golden Coin is a fantastic novel. I couldn’t put it down. The plot is fast-paced and compelling, with intriguing characters, lush settings and captivating narrative voice. Jefferson’s debut paints an intriguing portrait of Frances Stuart, a novel worthy of the determined, golden spirit of the woman whose face became the model for Britannia herself.”

—Susan Spann, author of Claws of the Cat

“Girl on the Golden Coin is a sexy, exciting tale featuring vivid characters, rich historical detail, scintillating court intrigue, and a complexly rendered heroine in Frances Stuart, Maid of Honor to the Queen of England, who will capture the reader’s heart — as will the man she loves, that rascal King Charles II.”

– Sherry Jones, author, FOUR SISTERS, ALL QUEENS